Bedside Manner
by Lialane Graest
Summary: One of his scalpels was missing. Such a trivial thing to have pulled his attention away from his work, but it was so trivial a thing that it immediately grabbed his attention. A locked door, running water. SteinxMarie


One of his scalpels was missing. Such a trivial thing to have pulled his attention away from his work, but it was so trivial a thing that it immediately grabbed his attention. Pushing away from his desk the scientist cranked the screw in his head, wondering if he had simply misplaced the item.

He clearly remembered the last place he had seen it was on the desk, right beside the others; his metal soldiers, all in a row and ready for whatever he needed them for. Stein stood, convincing himself that he was wrong and entered to the kitchen.

Some part of his mind noted that Marie wasn't in the living area or the kitchen and that it was still early for her to be asleep.

He opened the dishwasher and looked in. The scalpel wasn't there. Frowning he stood, looking to see if perhaps Marie had taken it to prepare dinner earlier, checking throughout the entire kitchen area without success.

His mind noted that Marie didn't need a scalpel to prepare dinner with. There was no need to cut pasta with it.

Climbing the stairs he paused, listening to the water running in the bathroom. He focused his _Soul Perception_ and nearly froze when he saw Marie's soul. It was scarcely hanging onto life. He finished taking the stairs three at a time and grabbed the doorknob.

It was locked. With a curse Stein threw himself against the door. It buckled but didn't break. He rammed his shoulder into it again, the wood splintering around the latch as the door flew open. He was at her side in an instant, dragging her backwards and away from the overflowing tub, his hands clamping over her wrists as he laid her flat, pressing his ear to her chest.

Her heartbeat was weak and she wasn't breathing. Grabbing a towel from the cabinet he wrapped her wrists with it as he pressed his lips against hers and began CPR.

"Damnit, Marie, breathe!" He cursed as he compressed her chest and restarted the process. Long seconds ticked by as he continued the routine.

He was rewarded finally by a weak cough, Marie's head turning to the side as her eye fluttered open for a brief second before sliding closed again. The agony he saw in her soul in that moment tore his to shreds.

* * *

Marie woke in her own bed, and tears immediately fell down the death scythe's face. _'I failed…'_ She thought miserably. She looked down at her arms, at the white gauze that surrounded them from almost her elbow to fingertips, and then at the restraints wrapped gently above her elbows, keeping her anchored to the bed.

"Why?"

Marie turned her head to the right and found Stein sitting in his chair beside her bed. The man had obviously not slept in days, and she suddenly wondered how long she had been unconscious. When she didn't answer he leaned in, staring at her.

"Marie, why?"

The woman turned her head away from him, tears falling down her cheek.

"Damnit Marie, why?!" Stein's outburst startled her and she looked over at him again. There was no trace of the emotion that he had just revealed on his face now.

She took a deep breath. "I… I can't take it anymore, Franken." She turned her head away from him again, staring up at the stitched ceiling.

He grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. "That is when you come to someone, Marie, when you talk to someone. You don't steal my scalpel and try to take your life!" Anger played across his face and Marie tried to pull away from him. His grip was like steel.

"You can't take it anymore? Take what, Marie? Having people who love you? Having students that look forward to seeing you every day? Having a life that other people would kill for? You're one of Shinigami-sama's death scythes! What about it can't you take?!" His eyes bored into her eye and the woman shuddered, speechless. "If something is bothering you, if someone is bothering you, just tell me! Nothing is worth taking your own life over."

Tears fell down the side of her face, gliding over the man's hand and she squeezed her eyes shut. "You just don't understand, Franken…"

"Look at me, Marie, and then tell me that I don't understand what it would feel like to want to kill myself and end it all. Can you honestly believe that I don't?" The woman opened her eye and looked at him. "You're stronger than that, Marie."

She just nodded slightly and he released her chin. "Tell me what happened, what pushed you to it."

Marie was silent, trying to figure out what exactly was her breaking point. Finally, in a broken, quiet voice she gave him the answer.

"Love."

He stared at her, and she knew he wanted her to elaborate. Tears streamed down her face as she continued speaking. "I… I loved Joe so much and he was murdered… and then… we killed Justin and it didn't bring any peace. I was Justin's friend! We both were! And then… after the Kishin was defeated we returned here… and… I realized I loved you… but you…" Tears welled up anew and she felt the despair crash down over her like a physical wave, her voice lost amid the emotion.

Stein was silent, letting her finish sobbing. When she finally calmed enough he leaned over the bed and pressed his lips against hers awkwardly. The woman's eye opened wide.

"Marie, you are irreplaceable in my life." He said quietly. "I would fight Shinigami-sama himself for your soul if anything were to happen to you. If you love me, why would you try to kill yourself, knowing that all it would do would be to cause pain?"

"I'm so sorry, Franken…" Marie's voice trailed off.

"I suppose that I'll have to marry you just to make sure that something like this doesn't happen again." He said nonchalantly, sitting back against his chair.

"I try to commit suicide and you propose?" She asked incredulously, the ache in her wrists suddenly forgotten.

"It certainly is memorable." He said, undoing the restrain on her right arm. "I have to have your word that you will never attempt something as stupid as this again." He crossed to the other side and undid the other restraint.

Dumbfounded she just nodded.

* * *

**A/N: I know… odd story. I don't own Soul Eater.**


End file.
